Johanna Konta celebrates her 25th birthday today and it is my pleasure to join the celebration by featuring this lovely baby photo of the highest-ranked British player in my Little Tennis Stars series. Look at those blue eyes!

Little Johanna with her grandmother

Johanna Konta was born in Sydney, Australia, to Hungarian parents. Her first tennis experiences came at the age of eight, when she was introduced to the sport at an afterschool program.

Until she was 13, Konta lived in Collaroy on Sydney’s northern beaches, then she moved to Spain to train, and while she was still in Spain, her parents moved to the UK, leading to Johanna eventually moving there as well. Her parents moved to Europe in order to be closer to their teenage daughter and when Johanna’s initial plans to settle in Spain didn’t work out, she went to her nest in Eastbourne.

Johanna has been representing Great Britain since 2012 and claims that playing for Great Britain in the Fed Cup has been one of her best experiences.

The 2015 season was groundbreaking for Konta, especially her US Open run to the fourth round which saw her jump from No.97 to No.58 in the rankings and her Wuhan quarterfinal appearance that ascended her from No.66 to No.49. This year, Konta played her first Grand Slam semifinals at the Australian Open, while she had never before even qualified for the event. Just over a month ago, the Asics-clad Konta reached her career-high ranking of No.21.

Johanna with her tennis-inspired gelato birthday cake

Happy birthday from Women’s Tennis Blog, Johanna! And good luck at the French Open! (photos: Johanna’s Instagram, Jimmie48)